So, around a year ago i had the clutch and gearbox replaced in my 100hp panda. but the problem has been apparent from the beginning of ownership.

Every now and again when accelerating, usually to over take on dual carriageways etc, the revs of the car will rise very fast as if my foot is on the clutch and stay that way until i let off the throttle. it only happens when the car is warm however. Meaning I'm having to be very gentle with my right foot, so as not to upset it.

The car pulls away from a stand still in second gear fine and the clutch itself feels great. and 80% of the time will over take and accelerate from 70mph to pass cars or a general increase in speed perfectly fine. But sometimes, the revs will rise with the speed as expected then all of a sudden smash into the red line and stay there until the throttle is released.

any ideas?
cheers.

joshchambers said:

So, around a year ago i had the clutch and gearbox replaced in my 100hp panda. but the problem has been apparent from the beginning of ownership.

Every now and again when accelerating, usually to over take on dual carriageways etc, the revs of the car will rise very fast as if my foot is on the clutch and stay that way until i let off the throttle. it only happens when the car is warm however. Meaning I'm having to be very gentle with my right foot, so as not to upset it.

The car pulls away from a stand still in second gear fine and the clutch itself feels great. and 80% of the time will over take and accelerate from 70mph to pass cars or a general increase in speed perfectly fine. But sometimes, the revs will rise with the speed as expected then all of a sudden smash into the red line and stay there until the throttle is released.

any ideas?
cheers.

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If the clutch is slipping again then it's likely you're going to have to replace it.

I'm thinking it might have been repaired using substandard parts. Was it replaced with good quality parts, or the cheapest thing that happened to be available from the factors on the day?

The clutch could also be suffering from oil contamination; is there any sign of oil on the bottom of the housing? If so, then you may also need to replace an oil seal as well as replacing the clutch.

If you're not handy with the spanners yourself, take it to a decent garage and get a professional opinion on what's wrong.

These clutches usually fail to release when worn so my guess is an oil leak. You will need a new clutch and replace both engine and gearbox oil seals.

Also get the garage to check the condition of the gearbox input shaft bearing. There should be no side play at the input shaft. Any movement will quickly damage the oil seal.

yes it was a new fiat clutch that was installed by a reputable garage, ill have a look into possible contamination and seals.

thanks for the help!

The early MJs have a habit of doing this almost as a routine in third gear if you give it a bit. I've come to the conclusion (whether I got the idea from here or worked it out myself, I've no idea) that all the Panda 'boxes had the same torque capacity, namely, 150 Nm. That's no problem on the 1.1 and 1.2, but as the MJ produces 145 Nm from around 1800 revs upwards, it's getting within a smidgin of overwhelming the 'box. In order to preserve the gearbox, the clutch is rated a little lower meaning that it has something of the Sacrificial Lamb about it.

I did enquire about a higher rated clutch but was warned that there was a very good chance that although the clutch would survive, the gearbox would probably wear prematurely.

Of course the above may have nothing to do with the slipping 100HP clutch, but plenty to do with a man who has consumed considerably more Single Malt than he should have over the last week.

Fiat might use the same clutch and box in all models so no surprise if the diesel cooks it's clutch. But the original clutch might have been changed for the wrong spec. The 'box rating is within what the diesel makes so it should be fine. However a heavy duty clutch would be worthwhile when the time comes. Also use a high spec gear oil. 75-140 fully synthetic is good stuff.

Just avoid dropping the clutch or pulling hard at low revs/high gear. However, the 4x4 with it's better traction could well over stress a weak gearbox.

There are at least three different clutches in the Panda, the smaller petrol's, the multijet and the 100hp. Only the multijet has inherent problems especialy if a tuning box is fitted. Only direct examination of the internals checking for oil contamination and its source will be of any use. If there is no oil leak, then while it's apart, replace the three parts of the clutch and get the mechanic to glaze bust the friction surface of the flywheel while it is exposed.